Vodka
by zfirze
Summary: It would always be only that one shot of vodka that links them together. AU Grimm Ichi
1. Chapter 1

hehe, something new again XP anyway, this would most likely be a twoshots (second part unwritten yet though, and hopefully it won't take too long) erm, a warning first, take note of the genre...

i started writing this quite a long while ago, as an attempt to clear my writer's block and to get into the flow of writing again, unfortunately, it seems the rust of not-writing had set in real well :(

oh wells, hope you enjoy :D

disclaimer: i don't own Bleach

* * *

**Vodka  
I **

* * *

"Oi bartender, one vodka!"

_Ah, he's here today_, "Coming right up!" Ichigo grabbed the vodka bottle off the shelf as he turned around to face the counter.

The blue-haired stranger was drumming his fingers against the marble top, his head nodding to the beat of the club music while looking around nonchalantly. Ichigo reached forward for a shot glass, peeking surreptitiously at the man as he did so.

"Here you go, your vodka, sir," He placed the glass on the counter with a soft thunk.

Raising the glass in thanks, the man shuffled off to find his friends who were gathered at the other end of the club.

"Lover boy is here again?" A teasing voice came from behind him.

"Renji!" Ichigo jumped in surprise at the sudden appearance of his friend who was the other bartender on duty for the night, then he scowled, "And he's not my lover. I don't even know his name!"

Renji snorted, "Liar, you do know. He just never officially introduced himself to you,"

"Yeah well..." Ichigo mumbled, his voice trailing off as he caught sight of the man moving onto the dance floor.

_Vizards_, a nightclub right at the heart of Shinjuku, was one of the most popular in the area and was always packed to the brim on Friday and Saturday nights. And it was these two days that the owner had asked for Ichigo's help to bartend the busy counters. It also_ just_ so happened that the blue-haired stranger only appeared on Fridays and Saturdays.

Ichigo had first met him four months ago, when he agreed to help Shinji with the _Vizards_. His order for that night, a plain simple vodka, had Ichigo looking up at him properly. Customers rarely go for simple drinks in a club as fancy as the _Vizards_ and after a whole night of mixing, Ichigo was rather surprised at the order. And when Ichigo looked up and right at him, he was immediately caught. The blue hair, the arrogant attitude, the self-confidence and the body to die for. Ichigo had to constantly remind himself that employees were not to jump customers. Needless to say, Ichigo had quickly found out his name, not that it was difficult considering his crowd of friends were constantly yelling and catcalling it.

_Grimmjow._

Ichigo had never heard a more exotic and sexy name.

Four months ago, Grimmjow could not really be considered a regular customer, perhaps appearing only once every few weeks. That slowly changed and increased until he was here twice a week. Each time appearing earlier and earlier than his previous visit until he was now one of the first few to step into the club when it officially opened for the night. And his routine when at the club had never changed. He would come in with his crowd of friends-of-the-week before making his way over to the bar and proceeding to order a shot of vodka. It did not seemed to matter to the man whether he had company with him, sometimes even going as far as to shake them off.

Not that Ichigo was a stalker to know that much... Grimmjow just stood out. At least, that was what Ichigo constantly told himself.

Whenever Grimmjow was at the counter, it seemed that Ichigo always got to serve him. Somehow, his fellow bartenders would just so happen to be busy when Grimmjow entered the club. Ichigo had no idea if that was a coincidence, but he was not one to question good things.

He had never really talked to Grimmjow before though, barring the customary greetings and the order-taking, since Grimmjow never stayed at the counter long enough for Ichigo to start any idle chats. And he would never appear again at the counter for the rest of the night, instead letting his friends get his drinks for him.

So it was just once a day for two days of the week that they would speak a few simple words. Grimmjow was just a stranger to him, and him to Grimmjow. The only thing that held them together was that one plain shot of vodka.

* * *

"Hey, bartender, one vodka!"

Ichigo let out a small imperceptible sigh of relief as he reached to fetch the shot glass. It had been a rough day at the hospital and all he wanted the whole time was to hear Grimmjow's voice, even if it was only a few simple and routine words.

"Here you go, sir," Well, he could stare at him all day too.

_Keep dreaming_. Ichigo frowned and scowled at that sudden thought that flashed across his mind. He fidgeted with the bottles lining the edges of the counter, just so that he could stay near the man for awhile longer. And since business was still rather slow as the club had just opened for the night, Shinji would also be less likely to scold him for slacking off. The teasing part though... probably could not be avoided.

"Oi, what's your name?"

Ichigo looked up, startled at the sudden question. Grimmjow was still standing at the bar counter, staring at him and casually twirling that shot of vodka as he waited for Ichigo to reply.

"Ichigo," He replied, pointing to his employee's badge as he said so.

Grimmjow snorted, "I'm asking for your real name, not your stage name. I already knew it. Why the hell do bartenders even need stage name,"

"It _is_ my real name," Ichigo said tersely before scowling and picking up a rag to clean the glasses, turning to the side as he did so.

There was silence then and Ichigo assumed Grimmjow had walked off. He suppressed an irritated growl and continued wiping the glass with more force than necessary. Their first real conversation and it had to end that way. Why could he not just kept silent and not respond to the implied jab at his name? But then again, he had always acted that way towards any other who had made fun of his name, so why would Grimmjow be treated any differently?

_Because you have been dying to talk to him for ages. A nice proper conversation. And you just officially ruined it._

_Shut up_. Ichigo scowled viciously at the stupid voice in his head, giving it a mental stab. He really did not need the preaching. Or rather, the mocking.

"Sorry,"

Ichigo's head whipped up at that one small softly spoken word but Grimmjow was already gone. His eyes followed the confident gait of the man before quickly snapping back to the glass in his hand. He wiped the glass again as he tried to control his breathing, forcing his racing heart to calm at the small sincere word.

An uncharacteristic pink tinged his cheek a few seconds later when he realised that Grimmjow had already known his name before, even if he had thought it was fake. The pink got darker when the fact that Grimmjow had wanted to know his 'real' name sank in. He could have been satisfied with the 'stage' name like every other customers, but no, Grimmjow had went further than that.

Ichigo coughed and forced the pink down, turning his head to pick up the empty shot glass on the bar counter.

Then he paused. It was Grimmjow's empty vodka glass. That was really different from the usual routine. In fact, Ichigo frowned, this Friday had so far been vastly different from the norm. Was things changing between them? Ichigo's head jerked up at the thought and focused on the damning figure in the centre of the dance floor.

Then he scoffed.

_What would a name or an empty shot glass of vodka change when there was nothing in the first place to change?_ He was giving himself too much credit, thinking that Grimmjow had, like him, thought the glass of vodka as something that bound them. So naive.

Ichigo shook himself to get his thoughts away from his fixation. He cleared the vodka glass off and turned to greet the next customer.

* * *

"Oi, Ichigo! One vodka,"

This time Ichigo was not as surprised as he probably should have been. On some level, he had already expected something of this sort to happen when he told Grimmjow his 'real' name.

"Coming right up!" Ichigo grabbed the glass and poured a shot, "And here you go, your vodka, sir,"

"Grimmjow,"

That did surprised Ichigo and he stopped in his motion altogether. They had been _sir_ and_ bartender_ for the past few months but suddenly, over a weekend, they became _Grimmjow_ and _Ichigo_. That was rather disconcerting.

"Ah, er, right then," Ichigo hesitated before he took a deep breath and went for the plunge, "Your vodka, Grimmjow-san," Ichigo's voice stumbled a little over the name, unused to saying it so casually to the man in question.

"Drop the '-san',"

Ichigo blinked and frowned at the command, wanting nothing more than to follow it, "I'm sorry sir, you are still the customer, I can't address you so informally," Ichigo considered that to be one of the most unfortunate thing that could happen to him.

Grimmjow seemed to scowl at the reply but said nothing. Instead, he raised his glass in thanks and drained the content as he remained seated at the counter. Ichigo stood awkwardly near him with nothing to do. He had already cleaned the counter and the glasses earlier so it would be too strange if he did it again. Shuuhei was also tending to the other customer at the counter and there were no other customers during the early hours.

"You free tomorrow?" Grimmjow asked abruptly.

"Er," Ichigo floundered for an answer, mind still reeling from the unexpected question, "I'm not on duty tomorr -"

"Great, see you there," Grimmjow interrupted as he threw something onto the counter and walked off.

Ichigo scowled at his rude behaviour. Asking something so randomly and not exactly waiting for an answer. He picked up the piece of paper that Grimmjow had left on the counter and, after realising it was not a tip but a ticket to something, glanced at the date written on it. Then he snorted, even if it was a Sunday, it did not mean that everyone was spared from work. Grimmjow was lucky that he was not on duty at the hospital the next day. Well, unless Ishida did the Ishida-stunt and call him in, something which seemed to always happen at the most inopportune time. Ichigo's mood darkened predictably at the thought of Ishida.

Feeling a prickling sensation at the back of his neck, Ichigo tore his attention away from his thoughts to meet Shinji's accusing glare. Guiltily, Ichigo hastily stuffed the paper into his pocket and turned to the next customer with a fairly professional smile on his face.

It was only later in the night when the counter was free again did Ichigo remembered the issue. After making sure that Shinji would not see him and accuse him of skiving, Ichigo quickly took the paper, which he could now identify as a ticket, out from his pocket and examined it. It was a ticket to a baseball match, one between Karakura and the neighbouring town. Ichigo frowned, he was not really a fan of baseball and only know just enough of the game to not be called a fool. It was going to be a terrible experience. Ichigo scowled viciously, Grimmjow should have asked for his opinion instead of just getting him tickets and expecting him to turn up.

Then Ichigo's brain combusted at that very moment. He was going to go out with _Grimmjow_.

* * *

Ichigo tugged self-consciously on his shirt as he waited near the entrance of the stadium. There was no seat number on the ticket and he did not exactly have any means to contact Grimmjow, so his only solution was to appear at the venue early and wait for Grimmjow to appear.

At least, that was what Ichigo was trying to convince himself. His early appearance had nothing to do with his anxiousness and nervousness.

_...who was he trying to fool._ Ichigo snorted mentally as he fingered his belt once more. He had not been too sure of what attire was appropriate. One look at the plain work shirts in his wardrobe had ruled out more than three quarters of his available choice. That had left him with only his punk street clothes that he had from several years back, random pieces which had caught his eyes and that he had bought but not worn before, and some other clothes that Shinji had randomly thrown to him to wear for the club's special events. His lack of clothes had thrown him into a sudden depression that lasted for a good hour where he pigged out on ice-cream and lamented on his lack of social life. He loved his job, really. Just not the impact it had on his social life.

"Hey,"

The sudden voice caused Ichigo to jump and he whirled around to face the speaker, "Hey," He replied, somewhat distractedly as his eyes roved away from Grimmjow's face and down to his body and the way the simple shirt clung to every dips and ridges.

"Let's go in," Grimmjow said after a short bout of awkward silence and inclined his head towards the entrance.

Ichigo nodded and they walked silently beside each other. Next to Grimmjow, Ichigo felt very inadequate. He had always considered himself to be rather fit, with nicely built lean muscles. But now... He started wondering when was the last time he actually had a chance to even jog, much less work out. Any free time he had from the hospital was spent lazing around in his apartment and spoiling himself silly, too mentally and physically exhausted to do anything else.

"Grimmjow-san," Ichigo said at length, after they had finally seated themselves, "...why did you -"

"Ah, the game is starting," Grimmjow interrupted.

Ichigo scowled. Was that interruption on purpose? It seemed too much of a coincidence to not be. Still inwardly snarling at the way Grimmjow interrupted and proceeded to ignore him, Ichigo turned his attention to the baseball game going on in the diamond. His irritation only got worse as he watched the ball being hit and the players frantically trying to catch the tiny ball and out the other team.

"I'm not your customer here now, am I?" Grimmjow said suddenly, just as Ichigo watched with disdain a 'homerun' that resulted in much celebration from the team and the audience.

Ichigo's eyes found the azure ones of Grimmjow's and he frowned, not understanding what Grimmjow was getting at, "Wha -?"

Ichigo's mind short-circuited then.

It restarted a few seconds later and his first thought - _Was Grimmjow kissing him?_ - was quickly followed with a swift punch to Grimmjow's face.

"Ow! What the fuck!" Grimmjow grabbed the left of his face, the skin tender and throbbing from Ichigo's fist.

An inexplicable wave of anger rose in Ichigo and he stood, fuming, "I'm outta here,"

"Hey, wait!"

Ignoring the man, Ichigo got off the bleachers and moved to the exit. His steps were precise and hard as he moved mechanically. He knew that if he were to turn around then, Grimmjow would be getting more than just a fist to his face. How dare that man just kiss him out of the blue! He thought Grimmjow was probably just some strange and eccentric man. Never in the four months of fantasizing did he thought that Grimmjow was a pervert who would make a move less than five minutes into a non-date.

Then again, Ichigo scowled heavily, he met Grimmjow in a notorious club. How decent could the guy be?

"Oi, I said wait,"

Ichigo's arm was grabbed roughly and he was forcibly yanked around. Growling in irritation, Ichigo raised his free arm and made to punch the guy once more. This time though, the fist was grabbed before it could make contact.

"Oi, look at me, damnit," Grimmjow jerked Ichigo's arm until he forced Ichigo to stop struggling and focus on him, "I'm sorry alright? I didn't exactly mean to move that fast on the first date! It was supposed to be for the third or something, which I had hoped we would eventually get to. But today, just now, you were - argh!"

The anger that was building in Ichigo was abruptly replaced by surprise at the rambling and the last frustrated sound Grimmjow made, then he frowned, "You are doing a shitty job at this whole non-date date,"

"Yeah, well, let's see how much better you would do if you were in my shoes," Grimmjow shot back, "And what the hell is a non-date date. A date means a date, period," He snorted.

Ichigo shook Grimmjow's grip off and folded his arms across his chest, "This is not a date. You don't ask someone on a date by throwing tickets in their face and expecting them to say yes. Who the fuck do you think you are?"

He was so silly, thinking that Grimmjow's way of asking him out was him being shy and romantic or something. A romantic? Ha! Ichigo scoffed and rolled his eyes inwardly. Now he realised that Grimmjow did not do shy nor romantic. It was just Grimmjow being an asshole. All the hesitant conversations were probably just him setting up a trap to lure Ichigo in.

"What are you then?" Grimmjow retorted, "A pansy? What were you expecting - wines, roses and dinner?"

Ichigo flushed at those words, "Obviously not. But whatever it was, it was definitely not a baseball match. I hate baseball!"

Whatever comebacks that Grimmjow had died then and he fell silent.

"Yes, dipshit, I hate baseball," Ichigo rolled his eyes, "But I came. Why? Cause I thought it wouldn't be too bad coming here with you. Who would expect that you would be such an ass,"

"I'm always an ass," Grimmjow replied, almost automatically, "You're already lucky that I wasn't more, otherwise I would have just immediately propositioned you,"

"Then why didn't you," Ichigo said before he realised just what he was saying, "Wait, shit, I didn't mean anything,"

"Oi, let's go to a hotel," Grimmjow propositioned before missing a beat.

Ichigo fell dumb. Was Grimmjow an idiot or what? Though Ichigo could say the same for himself. His heart actually thumped in excitement for one second when Grimmjow had bluntly and gruffly invited him. He tried to give the arrogant man his best incredulous expression but even he could feel that it felt fake. Some parts of him do seemed to like the bastard.

"So?" Grimmjow prompted.

Grimmjow's posture was relaxed and so utterly confident. It made Ichigo tempted to flat out refuse and he was cursing himself for every second he took to say no.

Ichigo tucked his hands into his jean pockets as he scowled and replied lowly, "Let's go," He turned and walked off.

He could practically feel Grimmjow's triumphant grin as he caught up. Ichigo's scowl deepened. If it was not for the four months of fantasizing and drooling over the guy beside him, Ichigo doubted he would have accepted the invitation as quickly as he did now.

A hand slipped onto his shoulders and Ichigo slapped it off, "Don't touch me,"

"Not yet, you mean," Grimmjow leered.

Ichigo scowled deeper. How did he get stuck with such a pervert?

* * *

"Woah woah woah, back up for a moment. What did you just say?" Renji said in disbelief, the cloth that was cleaning the glass in his hand now dangled uselessly from his immobile fingers.

"I said, I slept with the guy," Ichigo huffed out, his cheeks flushed from having to repeat such information again.

"And he hasn't contacted you since? Dude, it's been five days. You've obviously been played," Renji paused, "That's... quite a lot of effort he put in for a one night stand. And I can't believe that you would just sleep with him like that,"

"Yeah well," Ichigo mumbled.

Honestly speaking, Ichigo was more angry with himself for being so foolish to go ahead and sleep with the guy. He was even more angry at the fact that he was infuriated with himself instead of with Grimmjow. He was not even sure why! Where was the logic in that? And even though he felt that he should have regretted it, the truth was that, Ichigo felt no regret.

Now though, he was irritated that Grimmjow still had not show up for the night. Of course, he had been angry and upset that Grimmjow had not contacted him during the week, but when Wednesday rolled by and there was still no hide or hair from the man, Ichigo pretty much knew where he stood. Nonetheless, it left him wondering if their previous status quo would still stand. When twelve midnight came, Ichigo found himself realising that he would not even mind if Grimmjow just came and not even acknowledge him. It made him seriously dislike himself that he was _that_ attracted to the bastard of a man.

Ichigo started clearing up the place when the nightclub suddenly emptied of people who needed to catch the last train home. The faster he cleaned it up, the earlier he can get home. Well, there was still at least two more hours to go, but with nothing better to occupy his time -

"Sorry I'm late, one vodka, Ichi,"

Ichigo visibly jumped at the unexpected voice. He raised his gaze away from the sink and met the tired face of Grimmjow. Automatically, he grabbed the bottle and a shot glass, pouring the correct amount out and pushing the glass to Grimmjow. Ichigo noted the way the man was slumped in his seat, his hair messy and his clothes disheveled. He frowned. Was Grimmjow late and tired out because of work? He never placed Grimmjow as someone who would work so hard.

"Are you alright? You should be at home, sleeping,"

There was a long silence before Grimmjow replied, "Hey Ichi?"

"Yeah,"

Grimmjow shifted his face up to meet Ichigo's eyes from his slumped position, "Spend the night with me?"

"...what!" Ichigo visibly bristled.

How dare the man proposition him again! Especially after practically disappearing for a week. He should just punch him in the face and then kic -

"I mean," Grimmjow quickly said when he saw Ichigo's hand shaking in anger, "I mean, just sleep beside me. I just need someone beside me tonight,"

"Then get a whore," Ichigo snapped back.

"No. It has to be you, and only you," Grimmjow said pleadingly, "Come back with me,"

Ichigo fell silent, his eyes taking in the exhausted figure that was practically lying on the bar counter. Was he really going to just give in like this?

"Please,"

Yes, it seemed so. Ichigo turned around so that his back was facing the counter. He could feel Grimmjow's disappointment at his actions.

"I end at 2. You'll have to wait for me,"


	2. Chapter 2

part 2! (: errr, sorry for the ending... hope you enjoy?  
and i just realised FFN can't do '?' and '!' together, so all my '? !' turns into '?', how awesome -.-

disclaimer: i don't own Bleach

* * *

**Vodka  
****II**

* * *

Grimmjow awoke to Ichigo's slumbering face. Without meaning to, a small smile made its way onto his face and he tightened his arms around the other man. Ichigo stirred at his movement and Grimmjow took the chance to pull him nearer and nuzzle into his shoulder juncture. A low groan and growl was all the warning Grimmjow had before he found himself defending against a harsh shove and a powerful punch. He stared at Ichigo's sleepy expression and it was with amusement that he realised that Ichigo was very much moving in his sleep.

Ichigo's eyes twitched before it opened and his eyebrows settled into his customary frown. The frown deepened as he stared blearily at Grimmjow.

"Good morning to you as well," An amused grin lifted the corners of Grimmjow's face.

The silence continued after that, Ichigo's eyebrows knitting together as he continued looking at Grimmjow confusedly. It lifted a moment later and Ichigo groaned, burying himself back under the covers as though he was trying to forget the sight in front of him.

Grimmjow laughed. Ichigo had reluctantly agreed to come back with him and had, with a very distrustful expression, climbed into his bed. Grimmjow had climbed in right after and pulled Ichigo to his chest amidst the man's protest. Ichigo was tense and somewhat expectant in his arms and it took everything in him to not break his promise and jump the man. He barely managed to keep his hands to himself during the night.

Bending down from his sitting position, Grimmjow wrapped his arms around the large bundle of quilt, effectively hugging Ichigo. He could practically feel Ichigo's blush and irritation at the whole situation through the pile of blankets. _An Ichigo in denial was just too cute_.

"Please tell me this is a nightmare," Ichigo groaned, his voice muffled by the blankets.

Grimmjow laughed heartily before lifting the blanket and pulling it off Ichigo. There was a loud yelp as Ichigo jumped at the sudden movement and at the blast of cold air from the air conditioning that hit him as soon as his warmth disappeared.

Lowering himself, Grimmjow quickly captured Ichigo's lips in his own, chastely kissing him before nibbling his lower lips and drawing a moan from Ichigo. His hands found its way into rumpled orange locks, massaging the scalp and drawing Ichigo nearer. Ichigo hummed slightly before raising his hand and pushing Grimmjow away.

"Morning breath," He mumbled even as he panted from the intensity of the chaste kiss.

Grimmjow snorted, "You're not any better,"

Ichigo frowned even as his cheeks coloured in embarrassment, "Shut up and let me go wash up,"

"Sure,"

He watched as Ichigo untangled himself and stood up from the bed. Without warning, his hands shot out and grabbed Ichigo, earning a sharp sound of surprise as Ichigo fell back onto the bed. Swallowing Ichigo's protest and irritation, he continued the assault on Ichigo's lips.

"You're an ass," Ichigo mumbled into the kiss.

"Hmmm," Grimmjow said in agreement.

* * *

"Good morning, Grimmjow-sama," Yylfordt Granz greeted as soon as Grimmjow walked into the office building, not waiting for an answer before continuing, "You're late this morning, so you would have to rush to make it on time for your only meeting today. At ten o'clock, you'll be meeting with Luisenbam Enterprise. And for lunch today, it'll be Harribel-san -"

"Wait," Grimmjow interrupted, "Which Harribel? The father or the daughter?"

"The daughter, Tia-san. And," He continued, cutting off whatever outrage that Grimmjow had, "You'll be having dinner with your parents tonight to discuss your marriage with Tia-san,"

"There's nothing to discuss. I'm not marrying her," Grimmjow said, stopping outside his office doors.

"I would give you the choice if I could, sir," Yylfordt said, humouring the man.

Grimmjow growled in irritation at Yylfordt's reply and with that, closed his office doors.

He made his way to his table and had to suppress the strong urge to sweep everything on his desk onto the floor. He had no intention to marry the girl but it seemed that his parents would not get the idea. It was not like he had not made it hundred and twenty percent clear that he was gay. Did his parents really think that this arranged marriage would go through? Grimmjow snorted, well, not if he could help it.

Taking out his phone, he stared at the wallpaper, a small smile making its way onto his face. _Ichigo_... he had been eyeing the man for nearly four months. He thought he would be content just looking at him forever, never making his move. Ichigo had been his dream, his getaway. And he had utterly no intention to approach the man, not wanting to spoil the image he had of the bartender. It would be too much of a bother to look for a new dream if the one of Ichigo did not measure up to his expectation. It was a comfortable relationship they had.

_But it was even better now_. He had grown desperate and impatient when he found out his parents were planning his marriage with a business partner and that there was a high chance that he could not get out of it without some serious consequences. With the impending marriage looming over his head, he had approached Ichigo.

Ichigo liking him had not been expected.

_Though I dunno why I ever thought that, everyone is in love with me._

Grimmjow scrolled down his contacts list, picking out Ichigo's name. He typed a quick message and sent it out before placing his phone on his table and waiting for a reply.

_I want to meet you today. 2pm, the coffee house near the park._

* * *

Grimmjow scowled heavily at his cup of dark coffee. Ichigo was late and his irritation from the unpleasant lunch he had was not helping. Tia Harribel was as silent as ever and the two of them had ended up eating in an oppressive silence.

Twenty minutes after two. And he was tapping his foot impatiently, waiting for Ichigo to appear. Grimmjow frowned and picked up his phone. Technically, Ichigo had not replied his message but there was no reason for him to be busy. After all, he was only going in for work during the night, his Saturday afternoon should be free.

Ichigo appeared ten minutes later, carrying a backpack in one hand and yawning with the other. Without a word to Grimmjow, he waved the waitress over and ordered one of the strongest blend the shop had to offer. It was then did he face Grimmjow and stare at Grimmjow's gradually darkening face.

"Yo,"

"You're late,"

"Had things to do," Ichigo waved his accusation away, "Besides, I just saw your message. You couldn't have wait for a reply?"

"You didn't seem to have the intention to reply," Grimmjow crossed his arms.

"Yeah well," The waitress appeared then with the coffee and after a nod as thanks, Ichigo took a quick sip of the hot liquid, "Like I said, I was busy,"

"With what?" Grimmjow narrowed his eyes, "Don't tell me it was the call you received this morning? The one that had you rushing off in the middle of breakfast,"

Ichigo paused in his drinking and looked at him appraisingly, a slow grin spreading on his face as he lowered the cup of coffee onto the table, "Well well well, what is this? Is someone jealous?" He teased.

"W-what!" Grimmjow sputtered, thoroughly offended.

Ichigo laughed then, "Don't worry, it was all business. I wasn't off answering some booty call,"

Grimmjow swiftly stood up and moved himself to the seat next to Ichigo before grabbing his head into a headlock. Ichigo yelped at the sudden attack and attempted to swipe Grimmjow's hands away from his hair. In response, Grimmjow gave a light laugh and pulled Ichigo against him, his arms wrapping around the lithe waist and his face burying itself into the crook of Ichigo's neck. Ichigo squirmed a little before giving in and tilting his head a little to make space for Grimmjow, his own hand reaching up to pat the head of blue.

Smirking against the expanse of neck offered to him, Grimmjow pressed a light kiss to the skin. When there was no response, he moved his next kiss slightly higher. Then it was a lick and a bite until he reached Ichigo's earlobe. His mouth closed in on the flesh and he nip lightly onto the appendage. The next moment, he found Ichigo suddenly sitting right across him. He blinked before he realised what had happened. He roared with laughter as he took in the image of a flustered, lightly-blushing Ichigo.

"Are you crazy!" Ichigo hissed, his eyes darting left and right, "Someone could have seen that!"

Grimmjow snorted, his victory still smug on his face, "Who cares," He made to stand up and move over to Ichigo.

"Sit down, you idiot!" Ichigo snapped at him hurriedly.

Ignoring Ichigo's protest, he sat himself back at Ichigo's side, his arm snaking around Ichigo's waist. A sharp rap on his knuckles and a harsh glare from Ichigo later, his arm settled itself between them, not making any other less-than-innocent move on Ichigo. He tried a large watery eye look on Ichigo but was only met with amusement. Growling at the lost cause, Grimmjow leaned his body onto Ichigo, enjoying the company as the other man quietly sipped his coffee.

* * *

His peaceful mood was ruined that same night.

"Fuck, engagement party," Grimmjow scowled into his wineglass as he sat himself on the balcony ledge, "They should get themselves engaged if they want to hold such a party and stop fucking bothering me,"

"That'll be rather difficult, wouldn't it? Considering they have already been married for over thirty years,"

Grimmjow's scowl deepened at the voice. He really hated Tia Harribel at times like this, calmly and nonchalantly commenting on things that he did not appreciate her talking about.

"Your parents aren't very happy that you walked off in the middle of dinner,"

"And what? They sent you to get me back there?" Grimmjow turned to face the woman, "What makes them think I would listen to you when I refuse to marry you," He said derisively.

"Well, it's not as though I'm jumping for joy at the thought of marrying you," Harribel pulled out a chair and sat down.

Grimmjow eyed the disinterested woman in front of him, "Then why are you not fighting against this? You're obviously not interested in this whole deal,"

There was a long silence as Harribel stared off into the distance. Grimmjow scowled agitatedly at the prolonged silence and after dismissing Harribel from his thoughts, started thinking of ways to get out of the mess.

He was in this, fighting alone. There was no way he could drag Ichigo with him. He doubted Ichigo would want to deal with his family problems when they barely knew each other.

"I have someone else who I like," Harribel's quiet voice was sudden in the silence and Grimmjow found himself taking a moment to digest her words, "But he's not suitable,"

Grimmjow frowned, "He's poor?"

There was a wry smile on Harribel's lips, "No, he's rich, but he's widowed and has a daughter,"

_Ah, age and family status_. Those were two among other criteria that families as rich as theirs measured everything by. Wealth, education, age, status, et cetera. Grimmjow was also pretty sure there was a hidden criterion of gender as well, but that was usually taken as a given.

Grimmjow sat there, swirling his wineglass and contemplating. He needed something. Something strong enough to stop his parents from plotting his marriage once and for all. But there was nothing, nothing he could think of. He could try running and eloping, but he could bet that Ichigo would never join him on that venture. He could try cutting off his connections from his parents, but he knew that they would make living difficult for him.

Finally, he set down his wineglass in frustration. At this moment, he could not think of any good counter-plans. There was still a week to go though. He could probably come up with something by then. With that discomforting thought, he stood up and made to jump down from the ledge.

"Where're you going?"

"It's Saturday," Grimmjow turned around and gave Harribel a sharp feral grin, "I'm off to find my lover," He leapt off the ledge.

* * *

It was to a loud unfamiliar ringing that Grimmjow awoke to. He fumbled for his phone on his night table but frowned when he realised it was not vibrating. Pulling himself awake, he tried to figure out where the noise was coming from.

"Hmmm,"

Grimmjow looked down at the muffled sound and had to hide a small laugh at the sight. Ichigo was burrowing himself under the covers as he struggled to stay asleep.

"Go back to sleep," Grimmjow whispered as he kissed the top of Ichigo's mussed hair.

"S'kay," Ichigo mumbled back.

He was more awake now and when the ringing started up again, he found it within seconds, "Hello?" He tossed Ichigo's jeans back onto the floor as he answered.

"Er... Is Kurosaki-kun there?" A hesitant female voice sounded through the phone.

Grimmjow frowned, his eyes flicking to Ichigo, "He's busy," With that, he hung up and for good measures, turned the phone off.

_Kurosaki Ichigo, huh_. It was then Grimmjow realised that he knew so little about the man sleeping on his bed. He only just found out what Ichigo's family name was.

He climbed back under the covers and watched, amused, as Ichigo snuggled up to the warmth he provided. Turning to face Ichigo, he leaned forward and kissed Ichigo's right eye. Ichigo's brow scrunched up at his action and with increasing amusement, he continued to kiss Ichigo's other eye. A sleepy hand came up to swat his face away and Grimmjow easily caught the arm, holding it to a side as he continued raining kisses. By the time Ichigo was fidgeting and pushing him away, Grimmjow had moved off from kissing and into biting and licking.

Ichigo's eyes opened and furrowed in annoyance, "Ass,"

Grimmjow's answer was a bite on the side of Ichigo's lips. Growling, Ichigo pushed Grimmjow off and climbed over onto the other man, pressing him into the bed as he leaned down to bite and kiss the grinning mouth. Ichigo shuffled a little, moving downwards to bite at Grimmjow's chin, lower to nip at his neck, and even lower to mouth the moving Adam's apple. He spent a few more moments licking the skin around the apple, biting and nuzzling the lump when Grimmjow swallowed obligingly. The pair broke out into laughter at their actions and Grimmjow grabbed Ichigo, turning them around so that he was above again. He leaned down once more and they continued kissing. He was only pushed away when his hands started wandering down Ichigo's bare skin.

Grimmjow protested, "Hey,"

"Hey yourself," Ichigo pushed his hands away again, "I need to go now,"

"What? Why?" Grimmjow asked, watching as Ichigo stood up from the bed, as naked as the day he was born.

"Stop eyeing my ass, you pervert," Ichigo glanced back and with a grin, swayed his bottom back and forth.

Grimmjow smirked as he lifted himself off the bed and smacked the swaying ass, earning a yelp from Ichigo, "It's a nice ass. C'mon, come back to bed," He cajoled as he reached out to pull Ichigo back.

Ichigo snorted at Grimmjow's comment as he swatted the hands away, "Can't. I need to go in by eleven,"

Grimmjow frowned at Ichigo's words, "Go in? Where?" Nevertheless, his eyes wandered to the clock on his wall, "Er, you might be late. It's nearly twelve now,"

"What!" Ichigo rounded around to face him and turned again to look at the clock Grimmjow was pointing out, "Fuck! Shit! I'm so dead. Why didn't Inoue call me? Fuck, Ishida's going to kill me now," He hurriedly grabbed his clothes and pulled them on.

"You need a lift?" Grimmjow watched as the other man nearly tripped while trying to pull his socks on as he grabbed his phone from the floor.

"Nah, I'll be faster catching a taxi. See you," Ichigo ran out of the room as soon as he grabbed his bag.

Grimmjow strained his ears to hear Ichigo running down the stairs in his apartment and pulling his door open.

"Shit! Why is my phone turned off!"

* * *

It was Friday. Two more days before the party was held and his fate was sealed. And Grimmjow was still coming up blank for his counter-plans. He was getting increasingly jumpy and short-tempered at work, even going as far as to yell at Yylfordt for the smallest and most unimportant thing.

Ichigo being elusive probably did not help the matter as well. He was always late and tired when Grimmjow asked him out for lunch and never free for the night. No matter how late into the night Grimmjow tried calling, his call was never picked up. If Ichigo had not turned up for lunch the next day, Grimmjow would have said that Ichigo had dumped him.

As it was, he was sitting at the bar counter, watching an exhausted Ichigo mixing drinks for some other customers. They had not had a chance to properly chat what it was that was getting Ichigo so tired out and Grimmjow was thoroughly irked at the whole situation.

"It's you, isn't it?"

An unfamiliar voice had Grimmjow looking up. It was the other bartender on duty that night and Grimmjow glanced at the name tag on his uniform.

"What's me?"

The bartender, Renji, nodded his head towards Ichigo, "Getting some social life into him,"

Grimmjow frowned, "I guess. But I didn't know that '_getting some social life into him_' would exhaust him that much,"

"Yeah well, can't blame him. It used to be just the hospital and sleep. Now there's you as well. Can't be healthy, taking the night shift and then meeting you during the day,"

"What," Grimmjow sat up straight, "What hospital?"

Renji frowned, "Aren't you guys together or something? Don't you know about Ichigo's full-time job?"

"I thought this was his full-time job,"

"Nah, he's just doing Shinji a favour. How old did you think Ichigo is," Renji snorted at the ridiculous idea, "Bar-tending as a full-time job," Renji walked off when another customer signalled for his attention, still shaking his head in amusement.

Grimmjow stared at the retreating figure for a while longer before his head snapped to face Ichigo. _Working in the hospital, huh_. What was he? A doctor? A nurse? Grimmjow shook his head and allowed a short deprecating laugh to escape. He barely knew the man.

He remained at the counter the whole night, exchanging short conversations when Ichigo had some free time. When it was time to leave, he held open out the door to his car for Ichigo to step in, grinning smugly when Ichigo showed irritation at being treated like a female.

It was quiet in the car, with Ichigo stretching and massaging his sore neck. Grimmjow took Ichigo's left hand in his and laced them together.

"Something wrong?" Ichigo seemed to have picked up on his contemplative mood.

Grimmjow took a while before he replied, "Yeah, just found out you worked at a hospital,"

Ichigo looked surprised when Grimmjow glanced over, "I didn't mention it?"

"You didn't,"

"...sorry, I didn't realised it,"

"How old are you?"

"What is this? Twenty questions?"

They reached Grimmjow's apartment by then and Grimmjow was silent as he parked his car, "No, I just realised I don't really know you,"

"We're not in any hurry, are we?" Ichigo unbuckled himself and turned in his seat, "Well, I'm 29,"

_Well, that was a surprise_. Grimmjow's eyes roved up and down at the figure in front of him.

"What? I don't look 29?"

Grimmjow laughed aloud then, pulling Ichigo towards him, "Nah, you look 24, maybe,"

A cocky smile filled Ichigo's face, "Flattered," He mock-bowed before yelping when Grimmjow pulled him too harshly and he hit the clutch in between them, "Hey -" His complaint was swallowed by a demanding kiss.

* * *

An hour later, the pair was lying tangled and completely sated on Grimmjow's bed.

"So... you're a doctor?"

"Hmmm," Ichigo mumbled in agreement.

"But do you always have to be on the night shift?"

Ichigo snorted, "Not my idea. Blame it on the prick of a planner. Ishida just loves giving me horrid time slots," Ichigo then smirked into Grimmjow's shoulder, "Might have something to do with me getting better grades in medical school,"

Grimmjow frowned, "He did worse... so he gets administrative work?"

"Nah, it's his father's hospital. He volunteered to plan the shifts,"

"Prick,"

"Yeah," Ichigo nodded in agreement, "So, are we back to twenty questions?"

"Sure, I don't mind. Let's see... I'm 31, likes blue and black, hates white, only son, loves my freedom, hates my parents, loves burger and fries, hates vegetables, can't cook, CEO of my father's company -"

"Woah woah, CEO?"

Grimmjow's eyes narrowed at Ichigo's expression, "Why do you sound so shocked?"

"It's just..." Here, Ichigo burst into loud laughter, "I thought you were some gangster!"

"You!" Grimmjow grabbed the laughing man and tickled his sides mercilessly, "Oh, I'll show you gangster alright. Here, here, here and here,"

Ichigo yelped sharply when Grimmjow started groping him, "Hey, keep your hands to yourself!"

"You didn't seem to mind me touching you earlier,"

"Yeah well, that was then. Stop it, you old gangster,"

"Old!"

"Yeah well, you're over 30,"

"You're 29, that's not any better!" Grimmjow shot back.

"I look 24," Ichigo said innocently, "You, on the other hand..."

In response, Grimmjow began groping Ichigo ruthlessly, running his hands down the sides of Ichigo's torso, down his thighs, up his ass cheeks and between his legs. Ichigo moaned and fidgeted at his attention. A grin filled his face when Ichigo started rocking back and forth and Grimmjow pulled him until the other man was sitting between his legs. Ichigo let out a groan of approval and Grimmjow smirked as he nuzzled Ichigo's shoulder. He started nipping at the pale skin in front of him, humming as he reached Ichigo's jawline.

"Hmmm..." Ichigo sighed in appreciation at the attention and his hands circled back to tangle in Grimmjow's blue locks.

Grimmjow continued kissing Ichigo's jawline, moving from his ear down to his chin. Ichigo was rocking faster now and Grimmjow reached his free hand down to his own arousal. Turning and tilting his face slightly, Ichigo moved to kiss Grimmjow, their tongues twisting and meshing together. Ichigo broke off the kiss and let out a moan as his hips moved faster in Grimmjow's hand. His right hand left Grimmjow's hair and came to rest on Grimmjow's butt cheek, trying to push himself nearer to Grimmjow.

Mumbling in approval, Grimmjow's hands moved faster, trying to bring the both of them off at the same moment. Ichigo's legs spread wider at the increase in speed and he started panting, his hand squeezing and groping Grimmjow's ass shamelessly.

"Oh yeah," Grimmjow let out a breath of appreciation at the sight and feel, his own head tilting back as his strokes became erratic.

"Harh-mmmhh..." Ichigo moaned as he came.

Grimmjow groaned at the sound, his hand speeding up. The warmth in his lap disappeared suddenly and Grimmjow started and almost came when a moist warmth surrounded the head of his length. He looked down, just in time to see Ichigo licking his slit and swallowing his head in one movement. He could not stop it even if he tried and came abruptly in Ichigo's mouth. Breathing loudly, he watched as Ichigo swallowed and continued sucking his sensitive member, giving it a few more licks before pulling away. He grinned impishly at Grimmjow and without a second thought, Grimmjow bent down and kissed the other man.

He pulled away a few seconds later, scrunching up his nose, "Ew, I taste gross,"

"Glad you know," Ichigo pushed himself up to sit properly in Grimmjow's lap again.

"Smart-ass,"

They fell into a sleepy comfortable silence then. Grimmjow drew idle patterns onto Ichigo's torso as he sat there, staring at the wall blankly. An idea struck him then.

"Come to my engagement party on Sunday?"

"Sunday?" Ichigo asked groggily, "What time?"

"Seven at night, I'll pick you,"

"Okay," Ichigo sleepily agreed.

Grimmjow relaxed, pleased that Ichigo was free.

"Whose engagement party you said it was again?" Ichigo's voice was more awake this time, his words slow and calculating.

"Er..." Grimmjow hesitated, "Mine? But it's not as though I really wan -"

"Fuck! Yours?" Ichigo pushed off and away from his lap, standing next to his bed, "_Your _engagement party? So what's this? And what the fuck are you thinking, asking _me_ to go to _your_ engagement party?"

Grimmjow took a second to admire the nude body in front of him before pulling himself together to string a reply, "I don't want it! I'm trying to get out of it,"

"Oh yeah, and what a success it was," Ichigo said sarcastically, "Your party is tomorrow and you're '_trying to get out of it_'. Shit man, I knew this was probably a fling, but really, calling me to go and see you get engaged? What the hell!" Ichigo moved away and started gathering his clothes.

"Where're you going?" Grimmjow reached out and grabbed onto Ichigo's wrist, "Stop, what're you doing?"

"Leaving. What does it look like,"

"Shit, Ichigo, look, just go tomorrow. I swear, I'm going to break the engagement,"

"What? During the party itself?" Grimmjow's silence paused Ichigo in his actions and he turned around, a disbelieving expression on his face, "Oh no. No no no. You are not making use of _me_ to break off the engagement. What am I? A pawn?"

"No! You're... you're..." Grimmjow struggled to put a name to what they had.

"Well, thanks for clearing that up," Ichigo stood stiffly at the door of his room, "Goodbye,"

"No, shit, don't leave," Grimmjow said weakly as the door closed firmly behind Ichigo, "Don't go,"

He buried his head in his hands as he heard the front door slammed shut. How did things turned out this way?

* * *

"Are you moping?" Renji, the bartender, asked.

Grimmjow raised his head from the counter, "Yeah, I guess so," He paused, "I got engaged," Then he let out a sigh of frustration, "To some woman,"

"Woah, what! I thought you and Ichigo -" Renji spluttered, his fingers fumbling with the gin bottle in his hand.

"I was too late, I guess," Grimmjow's eyes followed Ichigo's figure further down the counter, "Too late to start things, too late to break off something I don't want," His voice trailed off, "Too late to work out what I really want, what I was willing to give up,"

Renji left him sitting in silent regret and he twirled the empty glass in his hand. A shadow fell on him a while later and he looked up. Ichigo's brown eyes were closed and unreadable to him. They stared at each other in silence and Grimmjow longed to reach out and touch the other man. But he lost that right.

"One vodka, please," He finally said.

Ichigo reached for the bottle under the counter and silently poured out the spirit. He placed the shot glass in front of Grimmjow and with a final look at the man, turned and walked off.

Grimmjow fingered the glass. So, this was all that could ever be between them.

He tilted his head and knocked the drink back.


End file.
